Wednesday, December 29, 2010

J'adore this commercial...

This commercial never gets old... if wearing Dior will make me look like and walk like Charlize, then sign me up! She comes across so sexy, confident...and classy...while stripping!

And does anyone else totally relate when she gets the dress off...it's that great feeling when you've been dolled up, wearing an uncomfortable dress all night and you get home and you get to take it off and you can quit sucking in and just be comfortable? Except in my case, the heels are the first to come off...lol.

Monday, December 27, 2010

I'm dreaming of a white wedding...

How amazing that most of the South experienced a white (or in our case in Birmingham - a day after) Christmas? It snowed Christmas night and all day today - really came down a lot today. It didn't stick much here...but it was still beautiful to watch while we all cozied up by the fire in the fireplace, in our pajamas, and watched Sex & the City 2... SIDENOTE: ...which was much better this second time around than the first time I watched it...but that might be because the first time was a midnight showing and I had already downed about 6 glasses of wine.

But I digress... back to the snow...

Since I spent most of today being lazy (tomorrow I head back to Charleston and back to reality), I spent a lot of time looking at wedding blogs and getting more ideas for my wedding... next December, almost an entire year away. But hey... you can never start planning too early, right?

I am so excited I'm having a winter wedding...and with all of this snow, wouldn't it just be perfect if it snowed in Birmingham on my wedding day? This would be very rare, not to mention it would probably be a nightmare with guests' travel plans, etc.....

...but let's just pretend it's an ideal winter wonderland, shall we? How gorgeous are wedding photos in the snow? Love them!

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Lots of smooches in these photos....guess that's how you keep warm. :)

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve in photos...



Black Swan ain't got nothing on me!



Thursday, December 23, 2010

My favorite time of year...

I wish I could pause time...I'm not quite ready for the holidays to be over yet...

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

What to wear: New Years 2011 - Option 2

So we finally decided on our New Year's plans - after much debate, we've decided to spend our New Year's Eve partying it up at Red's Ice House on Shem Creek...we decided it was the best value for our money. Every other party in town seems to be $100 or more... but Red's is only $80 and it's a dinner buffet, open bar, two buildings (they rented the building next door to them since Red's is mostly outside), and four bands... plus most of us live within minutes of Red's, so that guarantees cheap cab rides as well.

So I'm still undecided on my outfit...but at least we know where we're going now. Here is outfit option #2... still thinking smokey eyes and messy hair.

Hard to tell from the picture, but those are black tuxedo shorts.



Do you have your New Year's outfit planned yet? What are you wearing??

Friday, December 17, 2010

Nutcracker Sweet

Tonight my fiance and I are going to see the Charleston Ballet Theatre's Nutcracker. This will be the first time I see CBT perform it. I actually take ballet classes from CBT and my teacher is a company member, so I will get to see her perform and some of my younger classmates as well.

Source: Charleston Ballet Theatre

I've seen many versions of the Nutcracker across the South, and so far my favorite is Columbia City Ballet's. I took classes there while I lived in Columbia, so of course I had to go see my classmates perform and William Starrett (CCB Artistic Director) probably would have had our heads if we hadn't gone to see the performance.

The reason I loved Columbia City Ballet's version is because my favorite scene (the snow scene) was beautifully done - from the glittery snow (not soap suds like Atlanta Ballet uses), the stage scenery, the lighting and the choreography was perfect.

Source: Columbia City Ballet

I'm excited to see CBT's version and see how it compares to all of the Nutcrackers I've seen before. The interesting thing about CBT's version is they use a company member for Clara - she happens to be very petite and young looking, so they always use her for Clara. So I'm expecting more advanced dancing from Clara in this version which I think I will like.

We're sitting front row, center left of the second level. I like to sit up higher so I can see the dancers' feet.

I usually dress up more for the Nutcracker, but I'm going more casual tonight. We're stopping by a happy hour before with my fiance's co-workers, so I didn't want to be too dressed up.

I'm going to try out a pair of brown booties instead of knee high boots to see what it looks like - but I might just stick with my tried and true knee high brown boots. We'll see. For jewelry I might try some pearls and see what that looks like.

Are you going to see the Nutcracker in your hometown this year?



P.S. That navy wrap cardigan is on Rue La La today for only like $30 or something.

Tis the season...

...for holiday parties. Tonight we stopped by one of the first Christmas parties of many. It was casual and BYOB, and included the most hilarious Dirty Santa gift exchange. Among some of he gifts received were the Clapper, a shaker weight with accompany body lotion, and cheap bottles of tequila.

Those are the gifts I can mention...others were..well..dirty gifts that you DO NOT want. And I learned about the Diva Cup tonight...ewwww. Never heard of it...dee.skus.ting. Google it if you dare.

Anyways... I found this cute, sequined paneled top at Belk the other day - on sale for only $20! You can get it online too if you like it. I paired it with jeans, a black blazer, black boots and a silver ruffled handbag I already owned. I wish I had had time to paint my nails silver...oh well, that might have been overkill.


Bad lighting and not of the whole outfit, but you get the idea.

We have Nutcracker tomorrow night and another Christmas party Saturday night. How many Christmas parties have you attended already?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

COAST Apparel Polo Winner!!

Good afternoon ladies...

I'm excited to announce the winner of my very first giveaway - a COAST Apparel polo with an adorable COAST logo crab stitched on the front. Winner has the option of either the small in the pink color or the medium in the light blue - both are great!

Excuse me while I computer nerd for a second...

First I went through and collected all of your entries into an Excel data sheet...like virtually writing your entries down on a separate piece of paper and throwing them in a bowl.

Then, using RAND function in a separate column, I shuffled your entries - think a virtual way of me sticking my hand in a bowl and shuffling the paper entries around.

Then, using RANDBETWEEN function in Excel, I had it randomly pick a number between 1 and 50 - just like I would blindly pull an entry out of the bowl.


And the winner is....

Dee S. from Charlotte, NC!

Yay! Congrats!

Thanks to everyone who participated in my first giveaway - and to COAST Apparel for offering up the awesome prize. :)

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far...and guess what... tomorrow is Friday! Whoo hoo!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What to wear: New Years 2011 - Option 1

Let's not even mention the fact that A) we have yet to make plans for New Years Eve this year and B) this dress is on its way and I have no idea if it will fit {fingers crossed}.

And... I don't actually have the jewelry or the clutch...but I have very similar pieces I'd pair with this dress.

Makeup: Smokey eyes (thinking of getting appointment at MAC makeup counter) and tossled, somewhat curled, "bed head" hair...I'll need to do a few trial runs.



If you're a Charleston resident...what is the top place for New Years this year?? We're thinking of either doing the party at the Hippodrome downtown or the Aquarium party...we've done the Shriner's party at Patriot's Point, Club Trio, and Red's in the past...all of these gave us a "meh" reaction, meaning they were just OK...nothing we want to really repeat.

I'm not a big fan of paying like $100 or so dollars for an 'open bar' party - I've done them before and I always feel like I never drink nearly enough to make back my money and the food is never all that great either. However, I have heard that the party at the Aquarium is fun and worth the money...so we'll see.

I'd be content with a house party with friends...but I've got too many single friends who want to "meet people" and mingle... so I guess boring old, not single me will have to suck it up and hit the parties. :)

What are you doing for New Years this year??

Sunday, December 12, 2010

E-lec-tron-ic San-ta Claus

I love this commercial - it always makes me 'boogie' on my couch when it comes on...lol.



You can download the whole song for free! Very cool Target!


P.S. Don't forget...enter my giveaway! Deadline is midnight on Wednesday! :)

Friday, December 10, 2010

Casual Date Night


Tonight my fiance and I are going out on date night - he's been out of town for work all week and I've had kind of a rough week adjusting back to the day to day grind - so I'm looking forward to seeing him and having a good dinner.

I've already treated myself to a large Gingerbread Latte this morning from Dunkin' Donuts and Arby's sandwich for lunch...and tonight I'm going to eat until I'm stuffed...so calories be damned today! I'll start my diet tomorrow...right?

So nice dinner just the two us, and then we're going to rent a movie, go back to my place, build a fire in fireplace, snuggle on the couch...and eat popcorn and treats. I'm willing this clock to hurry up and get to 5pm...

How's your Friday going?

P.S. Don't forget to enter in my giveaway! :)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

COAST Apparel Polo Giveaway!

About a week or so ago, I was contacted by a company called COAST Apparel about writing a post on their products and potentially doing a giveaway. The company is 'stationed' in Pawleys Island, SC (but you can find their products in stores across the country) and they sell comfortable and stylish, coastal inspired apparel -- think preppy meets the beach.

This description from their website pretty much sums it up:
"Our clothing lines are designed to take you back to the coast: in your heart, in your mind and on your back. They are comfortable and elegant in their cut, style and feel. It is our desire that when you put on a piece of COAST apparel, it will ignite some of your fondest memories and place you in a coastal state of mind no matter where you are."

I love their adorable blue crap logo!

I had heard about COAST Apparel just from following so many beach inspired and southern blogs, but I had never shopped there or owned any of their clothes.

So when the opportunity presented itself, I think it took me maybe three seconds to accept their more than generous offer.

I was very excited that they decided to send me one of their polos to try out. Such a versatile (and necessary) part of a wardrobe. I work in a business casual environment, so polos are a comfortable must for work-wear... and then as a 'coast' dwelling citizen myself, a polo paired with shorts and flip flops is a Spring and Summer staple around here.

However, since I knew this polo would definitely be worn at work as well as around town, I didn't want anything too ultra fitted. I'm weird about wearing 'snug' clothes at the office...I don't like the er...attention that it draws if you know what I mean.

So I emailed COAST back and asked what their sizing was like as far as fit. I was delighted and surprised that they offered to send me both a small AND a medium to try with the explanation, "try both...keep one...gift or giveaway the other!". Wow.

So I got my package in the mail from COAST...it contained not two polos, but three! Two mediums and a small, all in different colors! Plus they sent me a COAST visor, COAST koozies, and a ton of adorable COAST crab stickers (that I may or may not secretly stick in random locations all over Charleston). I felt so special...seriously... why me? :)

Surprise!!

So the small polo was pink - and it fit very well, but more of a fitted look, so snug against me. The medium fit well also, yet left more room around the waist and fell slightly lower past my waist than the small. Plus...one of the mediums was black and I think that's such a versatile color that I could pair with a million things I already own. So.. no brainer... I kept the black medium for myself!

The polo fabric is nice. You can tell it's of a higher quality - it's not too thin which you often find with other polos from cheaper brands like Old Navy, Target, etc. I always have to wear a tank under some of my polos because the fabric is just too thin. The coast polo is not too thick either, so you wouldn't be hesitant to wear it in a Charleston summer. I also like that the collar is 'sturdy' in that it's not folding all weird where I have to constantly fix the corners or pull it down.

Each polo has the COAST logo stitched on the front left - that adorable light blue crab. So cute! I'm so into beachy and nautical styles right now (living in Charleston has that effect on you), so this little crab is the perfect little detail!

I wore it to work today with a long sleeve white shirt under it, jeans, and a pair of my light blue pearls that complimented the adorable crab stitched on the front. I was so excited about my new COAST polo that I created a montage of emotions to show how this gift from COAST really made my day much brighter. :)


COAST sells more than just the polos of course - pants, button up shirts, visors, shorts...for men and women. So visit their website and check them out... the women's polos are on sale right now in certain colors for only $55!

One of our fave beach past times - Bocce!

COAST Polo Giveaway
So since I have extra polos, I'm going to pay it forward and give one away so that person can share the COAST love as well.

I'm going to give away either the pink polo in a size small....

OR the light blue polo in a size medium...

Winner picks which one they want! To give you a better idea of how they fit, I'm usually a size 6 - sometimes 4 depending on the brand. Both the small and the medium fit me - I just kept the medium because it was slightly bigger and loser around the tummy area which is more comfortable for me.

Possible ways to get entries:
1) Comment on this post with your first name, last initial, and where you're from - one entry.
2) Share a link to this giveaway on Twitter (mention @chsgirlblog so I get it too, and feel free to mention @COASTStyle too) - one entry.
3) Blog about this giveaway on your blog, must include a link back to this post. Then comment on this post with a link to your blog post - one entry.
4) Visit COAST Apparel on Facebook and 'Like' them - then comment on this post and let me know you did (girl scouts' honor ladies) - one entry.

Deadline for all entries is MIDNIGHT eastern time next Wednesday, Dec. 15th. I'll randomly draw and announce a winner on the blog the following day on Thursday.

Look into my eyes... you know you want to enter and share this giveaway...

Hooray for my very first giveaway!!

Big thanks to COAST Apparel for giving me the opportunity to do this giveaway and own one of their shirts!